187
The door of my bedroom opened after two knocks and a young girl with a shy smile peeked inside the room. She looked down when I turned around where I’d been standing in front of the windows and she reminded me of Ally, innocent, with an aura of hidden magic.
“There are clothes of your size in the cupboard, Sir. Mr. Reese has asked that you freshen up and he will escort you to meet with the King in half an hour,” she said with her head still lowered.
“Thank you, I’ll be ready,” I said and she smiled again and closed the door.
The suit in the cupboard fit me perfectly and I looked at myself in the mirror. Abeloth was strangely quiet, he wanted us to fight our way out, die a warrior’s death if it came to that. It was the first time in our lives that we disagreed about something so important.
“We can take them,” he had hissed on the plane.
“No more bloodshed, Abeloth,” I said and blocked him off.
Another knock came at the door and Mr Reese, I presumed, opened the door and nodded. I followed him out of the room, down the hallway, down the stairs and I was more than surprised when the doors opened to reveal a comfortable office.
“Leave us, Reese,” the man that stood with his back to us said.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Reese said and closed the door behind me.
“I’m Leopold Covington III, but please call me Leo,” he said and turned to face me.
“Ryder Grey,” I said.
“Sit please. I assume you won’t say no to a drink,” he said as he walked over to a drinks station.
“No, Your Majesty,” I said and he grinned at me.
“Leo. I suffer the title when addressed by my people, but you are my equal in ways that other’s won’t understand or would you prefer me to call you Sire Grey?”
“I’m not a Sire, haven’t really been one in years,” I said and he smiled at me.
Leopold Covington III was much younger than I thought he’d be. He was younger than Marshall but so far I could only get a sense that he was a good man, a good king and suddenly I thought of Rex and I fingered the ring on my right hand.
“Something I don’t really understand but we can discuss that later, firstly, I’m dying to know why you killed my brother … I hear it was quite gruesome,” Leo said.
“Your brother appeared in my kitchen one night, threatened to take my daughter. That was two years ago,” I said.
“You waited two years before killing him?”
“I didn’t know about the last breath bit. I was biding my time, keeping tabs on him, so that suspicion wouldn’t land on me,” I said and Leo smiled.
“Yeah that last breath bit is a bitch,” he said and I smiled despite myself. “What I don’t understand is why he’d want your daughter.”
“She’s fae,” I said and his eyes widened.
“Fae? How did a fae girl end up with a dragon for a father?” he asked me.
“Marshall was her biological father,” I said. The truth would come out in any way and I’d already decided that if any threat arose, I’d kill my way through this house to protect them.
“I see, now I understand his veiled threats,” Leo said.
“Why do I get the sense that I’m not really being questioned before execution?” I asked him and he smiled at me again.
“Who said anything about execution?” he asked instead.
“I killed your brother, a member of the royal family,” I said.
“I’m sure you’ve noticed that I’m quite younger than Marshall. We have different mothers. Marshall’s mother was an arranged marriage and she died in childbirth. Marshall grew up with a chip on his shoulder. So when my mother bonded with our father, a real bonding, he became jealous of me. My father doted on me and Marshall was tolerated. So naturally when I was named as successor, he became furious, vowed that one day he’d take the throne from me,” Leo said.
“What does this mean for Alexis?” I asked him.
“I assume her mother’s fae as well and it wasn’t just by chance that she ended up under your roof?”
“Nova’s fae and we bonded,” I said to him.
“Bonded to a dragon. So she had Marshall’s daughter and he found her when she started the change,” he said.
“Yes, I legally adopted Alexis right after we got married. I have three children from my first marriage. Nova has Alexis and we have a daughter together.”
“I would be very interested to know what race your daughter turns out to be when she comes of age,” he said.
“She’s eight now,” I said.
“If she’s fae she’ll start to change at around ten, I’m not sure how things work with dragons,” he said.
“Normally the men merge when they turn seventeen. My son merged when he was five, my other daughter merged when she was ten and my daughter with Nova merged a few days before she turned five,” I said.
“So young,” he said sounding surprised.
“She’s both Leo. She’s fae and dragonkin,” I said.
“Magnificent, you’ll have to keep her protected,” he said.
“You still haven’t answered my question about Alexis,” I said.
“Marshall hinted at him having a child. Our laws state that the ruling King must have an heir. If he doesn’t then another royal member can claim the throne from him when his child comes of age which is seventeen,” he said.
“So he wanted you out and that’s why he wanted Alexis when she turned seventeen,” I said as Leo nodded.
“You’ve done this kingdom an enormous favour, one that I’m not sure how to repay. If Alexis wants to know this side of her family, she’d be welcomed with open arms, she is in fact a Covington princess, but with that said, nobody will force this life on her,” he said.
“That’s all I wanted to know,” I said.
“Have you found it awkward to raise children of different species in one house?” he asked me.
“My other son’s a vampire,” I said and he laughed out loud.
“Your life seems very interesting, Ryder. I have one request and then you can name your desire as payment for killing my brother,” he said.
“What request?” I asked him.
“I would very much like to meet my niece, no strings attached, you have my word,” he said.
“My dragon says we can trust you, so I’ll grant your request,” I said.
“What can I do for you in return?” he asked.
“One day my family might need protection from the Dragon King,” I said.
“I sense a lot of death around you, both kinds of death, almost as if killing comes naturally to you,” he observed.
“I was a hunter, a long time ago,” I said.
“By my calculation we can be in Georgia within six hours,” he said.
“Sooner if I drive,” I said and he grinned at me.
“Your family will have our protection against all of your enemies, two of your children are fae so naturally the protection that is automatically theirs will extend to their family as well,” he said.
Leo didn’t kid around with anything and five and a half hours later I pressed the remote to open the gate to the farm. It was around four am and I knew the house would be asleep. Leo had brought Reese along and I was surprised to see Wynter and Milo barging through the kitchen door when I closed the driver door.
Leo finally met his niece and he stayed true to his word. I could see the family resemblance when he stood next to her, talking animatedly about her life. He apologized to Nova for his brother’s actions and once again I felt that sense of calm within myself.
Leo and Reese left that night, with a promise to stay in contact and once again cementing our deal. Our lives would go back to normal, the girls were in middle school, the boys would leave for the Unit and little Shae would continue to boss everyone around.
I had to wonder though, how long the peace would last.
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